TRon

Glad he's got a job, he seems like a decent sort. Don't think a former Man U legend is necessarily the right fit for a low profile PL club though.

They only sold for absolutely crazy money mind. I think we'll sell as well if we receive those sort of offers, just not convinced we will. Teams are being a lot more cagey throwing money around now. Other than Chelsea.

It is harsh to judge on last season like, despite all the issues with injuries and gaping holes in the squad, we were a whisker from qualifying for Europe. Obviously it was a disappointment following the success of the season before, but kind of predictable. But I do agree we aren't playing anywhere near as good football as we were a couple of years ago which is odd considering the money we've spent. I think Howe will be judged on this season, and we need Europe. Still well within our grasp, but he needs to get the shape of the team sorted. It's not working for too many games this season.

Tbf it could also stand for Financial Foul Play which would still work.

We should give Barnes a start, he should be champing at the bit to get his turn. Then it's up to him to take it this time, I don't think he's impressed when he's been given one previously. Gordon will be better for a rest and the realisation that his place isn't guaranteed. It depends on performance week in week out.

I would imagine they've replaced Olise with someone along the same type, i.e., fast and powerful. Hopefully a shit finisher. Not great Eze will be back, he'll probably have a field day. We really should be winning this though.

Yes it can be done...but you can't hang your hat on it. The only advantage you can have over any other clubs in that regard is hiring the best people to recruit young talent. I suppose we could pay more for a DOF than Spurs, Chelsea or Villa would. But realistically they will all want to follow the same model so I guess it comes down to who is the most attractive. We couldn't hold Man U off when it came to keeping Ashworth. Was that just a one off because of previous relations, or do the established super clubs already have a built in advantage?

That's more long term, I was thinking immediate future, i.e., this season and next.

Finishing 5th would be overachieving if we look at it soberly. I think it's been mentioned a few times that our wage bill and team value is probably closer to around 7th which would have us (maybe) just missing out on Europe like last time round.

Agree. I haven't seen Palace since they sold Elise, but they seem the type of team that always has the sort of pacy runners that love the gaps we leave between the defence and midfield. Hopefully their latest versions will be the type to miss every chance that comes their way and we can take ours this time.

The cartel clubs will all be doing exactly the same thing but with a bigger treasury to hire the best in all fields. Realistically we would be around 6th/7th in the resources department when it comes to reaching our potential and ambition?

Problem is, the game is stacked against us. The only way to keep genuine world class players is to become a world class team. We are prevented from doing this by rules specifically designed to stop us building one. The only way to get on the ladder is....to sell our world class players.

Looking at the team yesterday and the subs, I was thinking to myself, that is one hell of a strong bench. Not many teams could boast Tonali, Barnes, Wilson and Almiron on theirs, that's for sure. You could write it off as a bad day, but we've had far too many already this season. There's still time to turn it around with everyone beating everyone, but we can't afford to be losing to too many shit teams second half of the season. The teams that qualify for Europe will be the ones who can figure out a consistent and effective style of play.

This is the conumdrum though. If we aren't a high scoring side, then the logical thing would be to make sure we don't concede goals easily. But the high press all action style we play is geared towards scoring goals not preventing them.

Seems the obvious choice since he did really well there in the cup win over Chelsea.

Longstaff has all the running and tackling skills required for a DM, but none of the skill. He wouldn't be able to resist the press effectively, he'd lose the ball, and he'd not be able to orchestrate from the back either. Ditto Joelinton more or less.

Schar is a cult hero at Newcastle, but he's had a very average season so far. He really does need a big physical presence next to him like Botman or Burn to function.

He gets into goal scoring positions regularly. At this point given no one else other than Isak looks likely to score he should in theory be one of the first names on the team sheet.

Any scenario where a Howe sides beats Liverpool....I'm taking it.

He did that tbf, and they were decent instructions considering any attempts at doing more than that saw him lose the ball. There was one point near the end where the ball was pinged to him and his attempt to control it ended up with the ball looping up into the air his touch was that bad.

The co commentators mentioned our poor quality of delivery as well. I realise that they aren't always good judges of a game but it's been pretty apparent anyway. Our football is not great this season. In our CL qualifying season we were playing consistently better and more impressive football, and that was with a less expensive squad.

Just addressed that again in the Bruno thread.

His issues have nothing to do with captaincy, his strength is also a weakness. He brings us time on the ball and often plays his way out of trouble. But his mate Paqueta knows he can get caught in possession and was on him in a flash, using his pace to close him down really quickly. I guess that's something you just have to accept as part of his game.

I missed the first half in fairness, but West Ham didn't look awful in the second. They were trying to pass their way through us with some aggressive intent, reminded me a bit of Fulham. Bowen was definitely causing us some problems, and as soon as I saw Soucek in the line up I was nervous he'd score. One of those pain in the arse players a bit like Antonio.

I'm just going to repeat what I have said earlier in the season. I am not going to criticise the lack of goals, that's heavily dependent on the output from your attacking players, and I'm not convinced we've got real end product across the front line other than Isak. But our game plan is front foot attacking which if it doesn't work leaves us open to counter attacks. So he has to fix that because it's a problem that's not going away. Either find a way to get this side scoring goals, or maybe sit deeper and play a more conservative style.